Speculation over who benefits from poll delay

When Election the Commission (ECI) announced the dates for elections in some states, it became evident that the polls in Maharashtra would not take place before Diwali.

- Rohit Chandavarkar

The panel announced the dates for Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, and said the schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand would be announced later. Since then, speculation has swirled over which party would benefit from this delay.

Holding the polls in Maharashtra will be a challenge in terms of getting the election staff ready and putting in place security arrangements. The ECI made it clear that the election was being planned taking into consideration the weather (monsoon conditions), the long festive season (Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Diwali) and other factors.